The Painting
by uptoyourdoor
Summary: Albus Potter never expected to have an adventure at Hogwarts, but here he was.
1. The Hogwarts Express

Albus Potter sat down next to Rose as the train carefully rounded a corner, leaving the station behind it. Rose was fidgety, obviously excited to be going to Hogwarts. Even after everything James had said, Albus knew that he would love Hogwarts. It seemed so... brilliant. That was all there was to it. It was strange knowing that Albus wouldn't be seeing his parents again until Christmas, he had never been away from them for more than a day.

Rose jumped up and down on her chair again, her long red, slightly frizzy hair bouncing on her shoulders. She looked at Albus.

"What house do you think you'll be in Al?" She asked, trying to keep still.

"I'm not sure, I'd like to be in Gryffindor, but any house would be fine."

"Even Slytherin?" It took Al a moment to answer that question.

"Yeah, even Slytherin."

Rose stared at him for a second, but then continued, as if deciding it was an OK thing to be sorted into Slytherin. "I want to be in Gryffindor, but I suppose Ravenclaw would be a great house to be in too. I hope dad wasn't being serious before."

"Don't worry, Rose, he was joking." Albus said, laughing slightly. He wondered if his uncle would be disappointed if she were sorted into Ravenclaw. He doubted it though, Uncle Ron would always support his family. Rose smiled and started jumping up and down again.

It was just started to get dark when the compartment door slid open and James strode in. Albus could hear giggling outside. His friends were obviously just outside the door. Albus tried to ignore this and just looked at James instead.

"Hi Al, don't worry, I'm not here long, but mum wanted me to make sure you two were OK. I wont be bothering you much more, I swear."

"Thanks" Rose chimed in "We're OK, I've just been telling Al what the great hall will look like."

"Well, it's great." James said, trying to hide a smirk. Albus heard someone snort outside. "OK, gotta go. Remember to look for Hagrid when you get off Al." With that, James ran out of the compartment door and just as Albus got up to close it, a trolley appeared, with an old woman wearing a striped apron behind it.

"Would you like anything, dear?" She asked, smiling at Albus, her grey eyes twinkling. Albus pulled out a handful of sickles and came back into the compartment ladled with chocolate frogs. He was collecting.

He dropped them onto the seat between himself and Rose, and pulled one open. Rose looked at him hesitantly. "Help yourself!" He smiled, letting the frog jump around for a bit before popping it into his mouth. He pulled the card out. It was Bathilda Bagshot. He already had her five times, so he gave it to Rose.

" I know this woman!" Rose exclaimed without reading the back of the card. "She wrote Hogwarts: A History but no one knows when she died, because apparently she became possessed! These are mere rumours of course, but there must be some truth behind it."

Albus sat back in the chair when he and Rose finished all the rogs. He had gained one new card, and Rose had gained five. Each time she found a new one she gave him a brief history on them. Truth be told, Albus gained little from it, as he already read all of the card beforehand.

Only the reflection of the compartment could be seen outside of the window now. Albus could only think about how close they must be. Rose was practically squealing with delight. He had changed about an hour ago, not wanting to seem too excited. His heart was practically falling out now. Before midnight, he would be sorted into a house. He would be in his new dormitory.

Albus swore he could feel the train slow a little, and then a voice boomed out from the megaphone in the corridor. "We will be at Hogsmeade station is five minutes, please leave your luggage on the train as it will be taken up separately, I hope you enjoyed your ride."

Albus held onto Rose as she jumped and down, almost screaming. We're there, Albus thought, we're at Hogwarts. Albus could not bare the entirety of what was happening, but it was. He would walk into the school in the hour. He felt a little worried at the same time though, as though something would go wrong and he'd be sent back home. For the first time in his life, he didn't want to go back home.

The train slowed to a stand still and let out a final blast of steam. Albus could hear door after door sliding open down the train, footsteps running around outside. He slid open the compartment doors and let Rose out first. She ran down the corridor, Albus close behind. It felt like an eternity until they were at the nearest door, climbing down the steps of the train and onto the platform.

The cold air is what hit them first, whipping their faces with its bitterness. They looked around and spotted a huge light heading directly towards the station. The headed towards it, knowing that Hagrid would be the one carrying it. He was, and his eyes twinkled when he saw Rose and Albus heading towards him.

"Did yer travel here tergether then?" He asked them, shining the light around. They nodded at him, smiling.

"It's always good ter have yer friends around you on an important day like this." Hagrid chuckled. Rose and Albus grinned up at him. His hair was starting to turn a little grey, but he still looked young.

"Are all of you first years 'ere then?" He yells, his voice booming down the platform. A few people scurry over, and Hagrid looks at us all.

"OK. As you're all new 'ere, you're gonna be enterin' a different way to everyone else. Professor Fera will talk you through tha'. This way!"

Everyone moved forward in twos and threes behind Hagrid as he took the first years down a heavy embankment and across a field. We can't see Hogwarts from here. He took them down again and then we enter a cave. Hagrid had to stoop slightly. Albus and Rose are behind him, not saying a word. Albus felt his heart beating violently, and hoped no one could tell. The cave has slimy walls and every now and then someone would step on an old shell of an animal and scream. Soon though, the cave began to widen, and Albus could see daylight ahead of him.

As they left the cave, they gasped for clean air and Hagrid took them to little wooden building by the side of a lake. Once they were all outside, Hagrid turned to address them all. He explained that they would get to Hogwarts by boat, travelling across the black lake, and that they had to have three in a boat. People clambered to get in threes, but Albus and Rose waited until tere was one boy left. It was the boy Albus' uncle Ron had pointed out.

He didn't seem delighted either as he climbed in the boat behind them, but what Hagrid said had made Albus feel sorry for him. As Hagrid pushed them Albus turned around so he could try and become friends with him. The boy looked up and then looked away again, as if trying to avoid his stare.

"Hello. I'm Albus." he began, trying to start a conversation. "What's your name?" The boy looked up over his dirty blonde hair at Albus and barely whispered his name.

"I'm Scorpius." his voice was smooth and he seemed intelligent. Albus smiled at him as Rose turned around too.

"It is a little scary isn't it?" She whispered "Not knowing what's going to happen, what house you're going to be sorted into."

Scorpius nodded and looked up properly. He was thin, with sharp features and pale blue eyes.

"Exciting too, though." he added, smiling a little.


	2. The Sorting

Albus jumped up as soon as their boat hit the side of the lake. He scrambled out and looked around, his eyes sparkling. Scorpius let Rose out, before hopping out of the boat himself. The first years crowded around Hagrid once more, whispering excitedly. He turned, and in a group the first years followed, almost running to keep up with Hagrid's steady pace.

They clambered up a series of stone steps, splitting up into threes due to how marrow the steps became. Hagrid could barely fit, and had to turn sideways whenever the steps turned suddenly. Then, Hagrid led Albus and the rest of the first years into a dimly lit courtyard, and beckoned them around him in front of a large oak door.

Albus never imagined Hogwarts to be so large. He could barely see the tops of the turrets when his head was tilted as far back as it would go. His Dad wasn't lying when it came to the enormity of Hogwarts. It looked warm, like a home. All of the windows were lit, making the castle all the more enchanting. He was really here, he thought.

Hagrid looked around at them all, his eyes twinkling with happiness. He loved seeing the new students enter the school, and often said it was the reason he stuck around. Albus couldn't blame him, seeing the awestruck faces of the first years once a year would be brilliant. Hagrid turned and knocked on the large oak door, which was about three times taller than Hagrid himself. We waited, the bitter air whipping our hair around.

Slowly, the door opened, creaking slightly as it did so. A small woman whipped her head around the door, a tense look of impending doom on her face. She had a warm look in her eyes though.

"The firs' years ma'am." Hagrid said looking back at us and smiling.

"Thank you, professor Hagrid. You should make your way to the feast, we're running late."

Without another word, Hagrid entered through the doors and was enveloped by the lights inside. The woman's beady eyes inspected them all. She sniffed slightly, then opened the doors and beckoned them in.

Slbus heard a few gasps as people entered the entrance hall. The ceiling seemed as big as Hogwarts itself, with tapestries reaching into the rafters. To one side, a huge door, tightly shut, with chattering coming from inside it. That must be the great hall, Albus thought. The woman leaded them into a small room to the side of the door, where all of the first years crammed in, a lot closer to each other than they had imagined. The woman turned to look at them all.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." She said, looking around the room. Albus noticed a spider web in the corner of the ceiling. "I am Professor Fera. For the next few years, Hogwarts will be the place you spend most of your time. You will make friends here, and live her for most of your adolescence.

'As well as making friends, you will also be put into a house. There are four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. How you behave in Hogwarts will affect your entire house. Your house will be your family at Hogwarts. Your dormitory, common room and house points will be shared with your house. Also remember this, the house with the most points at the end of the year wins the house cup, which is a great honour in Hogwarts traditions.

'Please wait here, I will return shortly."

When she left, the first years buzzed quietly with excitement, whispering rapidly about houses and friends.

"I would hate to be in hufflepuff"

"But imagine being in Slytherin!"

"I have to be in Ravenclaw..."

Albus didn't know what to think. Everyone had made their minds up about their houses, and they will almost certainly get them, but he still didn't know. Would it really be so bad in Slytherin? Would it really be so bad to wear the green ties? Before he could ponder for any longer, Professor Fera slipped into the room once again.

"Follow me." Her eyes twinkled and she couldn't suppress her smile even though she tried. They filed out behind her, Albus standing between Rose and Scorpius, and made their way to the large doors of the Great Hall. Albus could barely walk, his knees almost giving out on him. The doors flung open on their own accord and Albus was face by row upon row of students staring at them all as the shuffled forward to the front.

Albus noted that the Gryffindors and Slytherins were sitting on the far sides of the hall and that the ceiling - which was an exact replica of the night sky - was calm, the stars shining down into the hall. Albus had never been so captivated. He quickly looked around once more before concentrating his eyes on the sorting hat. It had been restored after the Dark Times of the war, and had a series of large scar-like creases all over it.

Suddenly the sorting hat moved, the largest creases moving like yes, filtering over the new students. Albus heard it sigh deeply then it began to sing:

Scars and bruises

Made by peoples short fuses

Years have passed

And still I last

Sorting each to thee:

Wise Gryffindors

Brave at heart

Daring, true and loyal too

Do you live up to that?

Maybe even Hufflepuff

Kind and just and fair

Patience and virtue

Is where they pursue

Do you live up to that?

Good Ravenclaws

Ambitious and Kind

A wit that could kill

Even the loneliest of chaps

Do you live up to that?

Finally, our Slytherins

Never known to lie

Those cunning folk

Are full of luck, brains and truth

Do you live up to that?

So which will it be?

Well, only I know that

For I am the Hogwarts Sorting Hat!

With that, it relaxed and the crowd of students erupted into applause and yells. Albus smiled and clapped too, already knowing he would enjoy this place. Rose nudged him and pointed over to the far side. James was there, smiling broadly with Teddy. Albus smiled and then they turned back to the Sorting Hat.

"When I call your name, you must come forward and sit on the stool. I will place the hat on your head, and you will be sorted." Professor Fera explained. Albus gulped. Fearing something so simple seemed cowardly, but he feared it anyway. Professor Fera unrolled a thick piece of parchment, and cleared her throat.

"Alred, Peter!"

A small boy with red cheeks carefully made his way onto the platform and sat on the stool. His legs dangled off the stool, not reaching the floor. Professor Fera dropped the hat onto his head and stepped back. In little more than ten seconds, the hat yelled out.

"RAVENCLAW!"

One of the tables erupted as Peter hopped off the stool and joined them, one of the students sat there thumped him on the back. This was really happening, the first person had been sorted and Albus would be sorted soon too.

"Balouguon, Adey"

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat yelled instantly.

"Barde, Jamey"

"RAVENCLAW"

And that is what continued for the next fifteen minutes. For some people, like Couke, Laviya, it took a few seconds, but for others, such as Ederet, Harold it took over two minutes.

Then Scorpius was called up. Albus smiled at him reassuringly as he climbed onto the stool. The hat was dropped over his head, covering his eyes. Albus wondered why they hadn't made the hat smaller; it was for first years after all. He stood watching, wondering what was going through Scorpius' mind. It took the sorting hat a full two minutes to come up with its answer.

It sighed loudly.

"SLYTHERIN!" It yelled, and the table to the far side erupted. Scorpius hurried over, as someone from the Slytherin table yelled "Just your place, Malfoy!" Albus felt a pang of guilt for Scorpius, that his family had a bad reputation, but he didn't have time to dweel on it, because at that moment, his name was called.


	3. Honour

Albus Potter slowly moved up on the stage, trying to relax a little. He felt as if he would vomit. He didn't want to look up. He knew every eye in the room was looking intently at him. How did James do this? He dropped on the stool and sat, in front of the the whole school, with his eyes firmly shut. Professor Fera dropped the hat over his head. For a moment, all was silent, until -

"Hello Albus Potter. You remind me very much of your father. Brave, perhaps a little more talented. You have much more of an understanding of how I work, but where do I put you? You don't seem to be sure yourself. Hmm, I've always had trouble with the Potters. So much of everything... However, I feel we may need to break to tradition a little here. Hmm...

'Ambition and bravery, just like your brother, you know. He practically begged to become a Gryffindor. You are much more... calm. Well, perhaps a little nervous. Hmm... Yes. That should do it."

Albus sucked in air as the voice boomed out to the rest of the hall.

"SLYTHERIN!"

The hall filled with gasps. Albus didn't want to get up. He never wanted to move again. The fear was pulsing through his body and he could think of nothing else. But he had to move. Too soon, the Sorting Hat was being pulled off his head, and he was faced with the whole school staring at him. He couldn't bring himself to look over at the Gryffindor table, where he knew James would be sat in disbelief. The first Potter to become a Slytherin. Albus couldn't help the tingle of excitement in the pit of his stomach and he moved across the hall and sat by Scorpius. Scorpius gave him a reassuring smile.

Rose was sorted into Gryffindor, and she literally started jumping up and down on her seat when the Sorting Hat announced it, but there was still a strange feeling in the air. How could a Potter be sorted into Slytherin? The last person, Valdire, Jenny, was sorted into Ravenclaw and the school erupted into one last final applause before relaxing once more. Then, Professor Primicerius stood up. He slowly moved and stood in front of the staff table, his red robes billowing out behind him.

"Well, well, well." He said, smiling down at everyone. "Now our new students are settled and sorted, it is time to lay down a base for them. As our other students know, no one is allowed into the forest at any time unless instructed otherwise by a member of staff. We also advise you not to leave your dormitories after midnight.

'Now, however, it is time for our feast. I hope you all enjoy your first day at Hogwarts, and... Well, as said by many headteachers before me: Let the feast begin!"

He clapped his hands and food materialized from nowhere. Dozens and dozens of everything you could imagine. Albus stared for a moment, then tucked in, Scorpius following suit. Their plates were ladled with food within seconds, and Albus looked up to see the headmaster toast with professor Fera.

He shook hands with a few of his fellow housemates, smiling and joking with them. Albus didn't understand fully what people hated about them. OK, maybe Lord Voldemort came from that house, and maybe that's where most of his followers came from, but they were each their own person, and they don't account to the other members of their house.

Albus was just starting dessert when the ghosts. The Bloody Baron swooped over their table and even took the time to learn some peoples names before sweeping off through the ceiling, wailing loudly. The other ghosts seemed to stick around however, chatting to people and flying around. Nearly Headless Nick was showing off his number one party trick. Albus caught Rose's eye and smiled. She smiled and waved back. Scorpius waved at her too. It felt strange not sitting next to Rose like Albus thought he always would, but he was happy he had Scorpius with him.

The ceiling which mirrored the night sky was twinkling lazily when Professor Primicerius stood up once more. The food disappeared and he stood and he laughed cheerily.

"Wasn't that excellent? But now, it is midnight, and you start your lessons soon, so off to bed! First years will be led out by prefects. Good night!"

The room filled with the noise of stools and chairs being scraped back as people got up, and chatter filled the hall as people filed out. Albus and Scorpius stuck with the first years, most of whom seeming to be headed toward a tall student with pointy cheekbones. He had a badge on, so Albus figured he must be a prefect. They all huddled around him and he didn't even smile as he surveyed them all.

"This way" he said, and he strode out of the hall, Albus and the other first years almost running as they tried to keep up with him. He led them down a small door into the dungeons. They were cold, and Albus could feel goose bumps form on his skinny arms. Albus tried to memorise the route as best he could. Right, then left, then right again and forward, past the statue of an old headmaster, then left once more.

"The password" the prefect said, his green eyes glinting in the dark light of the dungeon. "is honour." he said, and just like that, the wall he stood in front magically opened as if it were a door, he flounced in and the first years followed. There was a dark, semi-lit passage before finally it opened up into a large room, which seemed to be green in colour. Albus guessed that they must be under the dark lake.

The room was large and made up of several leather chairs and a roaring fire. The walls were crammed with shelves containing books, row upon row of them. There were a series of coffee tables around the room with plush leather armchairs accompanying them. The lanterns were placed haphazardly on the shelves. A large black and green rug covered the stone floor. The first years gathered around the prefect once more.

"This is our dormitory. No one enters this room apart from us. I make sure of that." he pulled at his robes, and Albus smirked. The prefect, not noticing continued.

"If you would follow me, I'll show you where your common rooms are."

The group walked around a corner where two doors lay, one to the left and one to the right. The were made of some sort of oak, and on each of them a serpent was carefully etched on in silver ink. There was no mistaking this as the Slytherin dormitory.

"Boys to the left, girls to the right. I suggest you sleep now. You can explore more tomorrow before lessons start."


End file.
